Recycling center may have to charge for services

January 6, 2014

ESCANABA - Many area residents are doing their part for the environment by recycling, but free recycling through the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority could soon become a thing of the past.

"By (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) rule, if you start processing more than 10 percent of your stream as waste, then it changes the rules," authority Manager Don Pyle said.

Delta Wide Recycling, the recycling branch of the authority, operates on a single stream system, meaning that all recyclables are placed in a single bin and are sorted by hand as they pass on a conveyer belt. During this process, recyclable materials are grouped and non-recyclable items are removed.

The DEQ does not require single stream recycling facilities to be licensed as long as the amount of non-recyclable refuse is lower than 10 percent of the total amount of material processed. However, if the 10 percent maximum is met or exceeded, the center must be licensed and meet different regulatory requirements.

"I can tell you, we are beginning to approach that 10 percent," Pyle said.

If the center passes the limit it will be reclassified as a municipal waste processing facility. Both the license and the administrative costs of operating a facility that is classified this way could cause the DSWMA to begin charging for recycling services.

Pyle said he hopes that reclassification and licensure can be avoided.

"We need the help of cities to accomplish that, because near half of the recycling we receive comes from cities," he said.

"Our goal here is not to point fingers and say, 'oh, it's your fault' or 'it's your fault,' " he said. "Our goal is to say, 'we don't want to go down this road and we need to work with everyone to accomplish that.' "